Romanian consumers cut meals and buy in small portions as inflation spikes

Romania’s annual inflation rate reached 10.9% in May 2026, prompting a marked shift in household spending. In restaurants, patrons increasingly share main dishes and drinks to keep meals affordable; a fast‑food chain owner reports seeing two customers split a single entrée on a daily basis. Higher operating costs—energy bills up more than 55% in a year and fuel prices rising 30‑37%—have forced eateries to raise menu prices, squeezing profit margins.

At grocery stores, shoppers are buying only the bare essentials. One shopper bought four peppers for 19 lei, and many limit purchases to a few carrots, a half‑kilogram of onions or two kilograms of potatoes. Food prices have risen about 10% since the start of the year, making Romania the EU country with the steepest food‑price increase. Around 40% of Romanian incomes are now spent on food, roughly 2,000 lei per month per household, intensifying the pressure on consumers and prompting retailers to adjust to lower volumes.

Both trends reflect the broader impact of stagnant wages—average net wages fell to 5,843 lei in April 2026—and declining real pension values, with the average pension slipping 0.8% in Q1 2026.